KIEV, April 25 – Thousands of people from western regions of Ukraine are expected to flock to Kiev on Tuesday for protests following President Viktor Yanukovych’s agreement to extend stationing of the Russian navy in Crimea.

The protests are gaining momentum as legislators in two regions have called for impeachment of Yanukovych following his deal with Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev over the Black Sea Fleet.

The storm has been gathering for days now as Yanukovych and his allies have been taking steps to ensure speedy ratification of the agreement in Parliament on Tuesday.

“I am convinced the agreement will be ratified by Parliament,” Serhiy Liovochkin, the chief of staff at the Yanukovych administration, told ICTV on Saturday. “There are enough votes to support extension of the stationing of the BSF in Ukraine.”

Yanukovych’s allies locked Parliament’s session hall from the inside on Saturday to prevent a scheduled meeting of opposition lawmakers that had been seeking to denounce the agreement.

“Everything is locked. It is impossible to hold the meeting in Parliament,” Viacheslav Kyrylenko, the leader of For Ukraine group, said Saturday. “It will very hot” on Tuesday, when lawmakers plan to hold the ratification process.

Instead, the opposition groups led the rally outside of Parliament with at least a thousand of riot police stationed nearby Parliament building.

Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko addressed the rally and called on the people to show up on Tuesday, the day when Yanukovych wants to ratify the agreement in Parliament.

“Let’s come to Parliament on Tuesday to prevent he humiliating give-away of the Ukrainian territory and betrayal of national interests,” Tymoshenko said.

Former President Viktor Yushchenko, in an interview with Channel 5 television on Saturday, appealed to two other former presidents: Leonid Kravchuk and Leonid Kuchma, to join the rally on Tuesday.

“Dear colleagues, let’s stand next to each other, and let’s the three presidents of Ukraine say that this [BSF agreement] is not a Ukrainian business. This cannot be allowed.”

Kuchma on Friday praised Yanukovych for a “courageous decision” to extend the stationing of the BSF.

Meanwhile, the grass root protests have been gathering momentum in western regions of Ukraine, with thousands planning to join the rally in front of Parliament on Tuesday.

At least 4,000 protesters have come to a rally in Lviv, the biggest popular protest since Yanukovych had signed the agreement with Medvedev on April 21.

“We decided to go to Kiev,” Roman Ilyk, a deputy speaker of Lviv Council, said on Saturday. “Lawmakers from regional councils will join us. Names of those who don’t should be published by newspapers: Let them explain why they weren’t there.” (tl/ez)